Govt to activate 16 more labs to deal with swine flu

Sprucing up measures to contain swine flu, the Government on Monday said it would activate 16 more laboratories across the country and set up state-level rapid action forces of medical personnel to deal with the viral ailment.

After a high-level meeting with senior officials, Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters that "lot of arrangements have already been made. Passengers, especially from the US, Mexico, Dubai and Canada, are being checked on all the 21 international airports."

But in view of the fact that the disease might acquire larger proportions, he said the Government has decided to activate 16 more laboratories to test for the swine flu virus in addition to the existing two in Delhi and Pune.

Azad said special caution has to be taken as the infection has now in one or two cases spread from human to human.

"The Health Ministry already has the labs, but they are for testing different diseases. They would be prepared for H1N1 flu also and the lab technicians and doctors would be trained within a week," he said.

The minister said that the government has sent a Rapid Action team to Andhra Pradesh where the first human to human transmission of swine flu was reported, but added that it was not enough.